PART 2 • Analyzing your games with houdini
The reason this analysis mode is called “infinite” is that
Houdini will continue to analyze the current position until you
stop it. The longer you allow Houdini to analyze, the farther
ahead it will look and the better its analysis will be. How long
you let it analyze is up to you, but bear in mind that the number
of positions Houdini must analyze increases exponentially
with each additional ply in its search depth. On a relatively
new computer you will see it shoot through 18 to 21 plies of
analysis very quickly (in just a handful of seconds), but then
you'll see the “Depth” number increment more slowly. It may
take Houdini 3 to 4 minutes to reach a depth of 25 plies:
• How long you'll let it analyze is ultimately up to you, although for the
average player an analysis of two to five minutes should be plenty.
• You'll notice that there are three small buttons at the upper right of
Houdini's analysis window. The leftmost (“crossed tools”) button brings
up the same advanced engine settings dialogue which the “Engine
Personalities” section of the panel does (as we mentioned earlier).
• The second (“lock”) button lets you “lock” Houdini into analyzing the
current board position. Normally as you step through a game move by
move, Houdini begins to analyze each new move as it's made on the
chessboard. Using the “Lock” button will cause Houdini to continue
to analyze the current board position, even if you move on to other
moves in the game. This is a great way to make more efficient use of
your study time; instead of having to wait around for Houdini to reach
a decent search depth, you can “lock” the engine in place and let it
continue to analyze the current position while you move on to look at
more moves in the game.
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